Submarine excavator



IINITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

WILLIAM KENNISH,` OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORTO-ANDREIV B. GRAY, OFSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

SU-BMARINE EXCAVATOR.`

Specication of LettersPtent No. 17,306, dated May 12,` 1857.

To all whom t may concern 1 Be it known that I, WILLIAM KENNISH, of

Brooklyn, inthe county of Kings and StateY the construction andoperationof the same,

reference being had to the annexed draw ings, making` part of thisspecifcatiomiii which i Plate l is a' perspective view and Plate 2 is asection of the apparatus in operation. i

In Plate l A is .the excavator which I construct of sheet iron or anyother substance having the requisite power of resistance. Its shape isafrustum of a cone or a cyl inder 'with bows and stern attached in orderthat it may be the more easily towed through the water or held fast intideways.

B is the converging pipe whichsinks into the bed of the river, harbor,&c., and through which the mud, l sand, stones or other sub-` stancespass into the excavator.

In Figure l Plate 2 8, 8, is the outer chamber of the excavator intowhich air is injected for the purpose of raising the machine when full,and from which the air is withdrawn, water taking its place, for thepurpose of sinking the machine to the bot- .tom preparatory to forming avacuum in the inner chamber.

C, C, are the discharge valves the opening of which allows the mud, &c.,to fall from the chamber. These valves are kept shut by the balancingweights 7, 7, which weights are suiiciently heavy to keep the valvesclosed when the inner chamber is full of the material to be lifted. p

The chains f, f, joining at 7b, are for the purpose of lifting up theweight-s 7 7, when the mud, &c., in the inner chamber will press downthe valves C, C, and nd its escape through them.

L, L, are the water tight tubes set into the outer chamber of theexcavator in which the weights 7, 7, rise and fall.

X, X, are the Water-tight tubes through which the chains pass connectingvalves C, C, with the balancing weights.

D is the pipe to which the hose I'I, is attached for the purpose offorcing air into, or withdrawing it from the inner chamber.

E is thepipe to which the hoseK is attached for the purpose of forcingair into theouter"chamber'when the machine is to be lifted and ofallowing the air to escape when it is to sink.

In Plate IN, is a cylindrical compartment made for the purpose offorminga vacuum in order to extract the air from the inner chamber ofthe excavator. The connection between this chamber and the cylinder ishrough pipe g, pass cocks P and R and ose M Plate lisa cylinder of the:same capacity and similarly constructed to the cylinder N for thepurpose of forcing air into the outer chamber of the excavator. Theconnection between the cylinder M and the outer chamber of the excavator8, 8 Fig.

2, Plate 2, is through the pipe g, pass m is a pipe leading to theboiler and transmits steam into the cylinders M and N.

I will now describe its operation.

The receiver A Plate l, as shown in the accompanying diagrams is on thebottom of the river or harbor, and the mud, stones, &c., are rushing uppipe B, into chamber 9 Plate 2. The air which was previously therehaving nearly all passed up through hose H, pass cocks R and P into thevacuous space in N. The chains and hosecare all loose to allow theexcavator to sink or rise without restraint. When the inner chamber ischarged with the `material to be lifted, the

cock R, is turned off and the cocks G and S are opened, a communicationis thus formed between the outer chamber of the excavator andthecylinder M. `The cock a is then turned onadmitting steam into cylinder Mand forcing the included air by its sudden rarefication and force intothe outer chamber of the excavator until all the water previously thereis expelled through the holes Z, Z, when the receiver rises graduallyuntil it floats permanently on the surface. I/Vhile it is rising therollers are turned around, tightening up the chains 9, so as to secureits position when it reaches the top; the excavator is then towed intodeep water or whatever place the material lifted is to be deposited andhaving arrived there the valves C, C, are relieved of the weights 7, 7,by the rope b which connects with the chains f, f, and passes over apulley on the deck of the ship. The valves having been thus relieved,will fall open, allowing the mud to fall out, water taking its place;the weights 7, 7, are again let fall, which closes the valves C, C, andthe receiver is towed back toits original position.

The weight or quantity of the material lifted may be ascertained by agage attached to the outside o-f the excavator marking its line offlotation. When the inner chamber 9 is full, the excavator'will be abouta foot out of water, and when it is not full, the gage will indicateaccordingly.

l/Vhen the excavator is towed back to its original position, the cocksS, P, and T, are turned, allowing the air in the outer chamber of theexcavator to pass out through hose K into the pipe g and pass cocks Tand P into cylinder N and thence into the outer atmosphere through valve4. By

this means the excavator gradually sinks until it reaches the bottom. Inthis state the outer chamber of the excavator is quite lled with waterwhich enters through the holes Z, Z, upon the withdrawal of the air, andthe inner chamber is nearly filled with water, as the air, which beforeits descent nearly half filled it, is compressed to half its volume.Before forming t-he vacuum in the reservoir N it is necessary to expelthis water, which is done by opening cocks G, T and R, and forcing theair by the injection of steam as before described. The air by thismeans, being forced into the inner chamber the water is expelled throughvalves C, C, which are relieved of weights 7, 7, for that purpose. Whenair is seen bubbling to the surface, it is a sure indication that theinner chamber is entirely filled with air and the weights are then letdown which closes the valves. The excavator is now ready for a secondcharge, a vacuum having been already formed in the cylinder N by theinjection of steam through steam cock e and its subsequent condensationby a jet of water being thrown upon it through condensing pipe J. Thecocks P and R are then turned on, when the air, from inner chamber 9 ofthe excavator, will rush into the vacuum thus formed, creating inchamber 9, a vacuum into which the mud, sand or stones, at the bottom ofthe river or harbor will rush at the same time, the hydrostatic pressureat the top of the excavator will force it down into the mud, thusconstantly keeping the mouth of the pipe B below the surface of the mud'and gaining twice the hydrostatic pressure by the excavator being whollyindependent of any boat or other body having a fixed position except bypliable chains and hose.

I do not claim as new forming a vacuum by steam as this has been donek.before,'nor do I claim to be the first to use such vacuum for thepurpose of excavation; but

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. I claim the combination and arrangement-'of the chambers 8 and 9,with the pipe, B, valves C, C, and weights 7, 7, or of Vany equivalentsthereof; for the purposes heretofore specified.

I also claim the arrangements of the cylinders N and M, with their pipesand hose, or the equivalents thereof, whereby the mud chamber 9, andfloating chamber 8, are alternately filled with, or emptied of air, asthe means of collecting and fioating ofi' the excavated material.

WM. KENNISH. l/Vitnesses:

WOODBRIDGE HUDSON, ANDW. KOHLER.

